A land vehicle wheel includes a hub which is rotatably mounted on the vehicle, and a tire mounted on that hub. Rims, weights and inflation valves and the like can also be included in such a wheel. The tire includes a tread section which contacts a roadway surface, and a sidewall section which connects the tread section to the hub.
As is well known, tire treads are subject to wear, and if such wear is excessive, the tire may become dangerous. Thin and worn tire treads may make a vehicle difficult to handle, especially on snow or ice, even if the tire does not become subject to a blow-out. Blow-outs, by the very nature thereof, are extremely dangerous.
For this reason, it is important for a vehicle operator to be aware of the state of the tread wear of the tires on his vehicle at all times. Accordingly, there have been several means and methods proposed in the art for determining the state of a vehicle tire tread. These means and methods range from simply placing a penny in the tread to rather sophisticated gauges. There are even signals built into the tread itself to indicate such wear.
Such methods and means, while somewhat effective, have several drawbacks which inhibit the full commercial success of such devices and methods. Principal among such drawbacks is the failure thereof to automatically make the state of tread wear fully evident. The gauges must be applied, and thus tread wear may not be noticed until a mechanic or other such professional specifically inspects the tire; indicators are not pronounced enough to be readily apparat, and, again, may go unnoticed until a mechanic or the like specifically inspects the tire for tread wear.
Therefore, there is a need for a tire tread wear indicator that will automatically make the state of tread wear apparent enough so that this indication is pronounced and noticeable.
However, in many situations, the state of tread wear should not be made noticeable in a manner that destroys the overall aesthetics of the land vehicle. For example, if the land vehicle is an expensive automobile, the owner of that automobile does not want attention diverted from the automobile to the tires if such tires do not, themselves, enhance the aesthetic effect of the vehicle.
Thus, not only is there a need for a means of making tire tread wear automatically noticeable, there is a need for such a means as will accomplish such result in an aesthetically pleasing manner that can be integrated into the overall aesthetics of the land vehicle on which the tire is mounted.